Asked by CNN’s Candy Crowley today whether Arnold Schwarzenegger was a failed governor, Jerry Brown didn’t take the bait. You can view the interview here. Excerpts:
"No, that's not true. He had his failures, but that kind of blanket condemnation is not appropriate. He championed renewable energy, he had bold ideas. Stem cell research. When President Bush was killing stem cell research, California was leading the way. Schwarzenegger did that. Now, there's other things that I can point to. But I think we ought to let his reputation rest and age a bit before we get too critical."
Plus, on whether he plans to seek reelection in 2014:
"I may have to keep my shoulder to the plow here for a bit, but I haven't made up my mind."